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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · ball · hand · bat · hide · jam · tube · spring

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. hand — in cards
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — of water
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tube — a container
  22. spring — a coil
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com